A Sunday Trifecta in May

Yesterday was an amazing day for our little family. Kyle turned 39 with little pomp and circumstance. I promised I would make up for it in the near future.

Most importantly, Cate received her First Communion at a beautiful Mass witnessed by the church community and 20 family members. I am pretty positive that Cate had the largest contingent of loved ones there out of the 10 First Communicants. It was so wonderful to sit across the way and exchange a glance or two from my parents, siblings and friends during Mass.

(the sixteen guests taking up more than one row of seating)

Cate impressed many by her reading of the Acts of the Apostles passage. One of the final pep talks I gave her before Mass started was, "now when you get up there, what are you going to do?" "I am going to read slowly, loudly and with excitement." Atta girl! A few parishioners stopped her afterward to compliment her delivery, which made me a proud momma.

She looked beautiful in her dress made by Grandma LaVonne and her shawl made by Grandma Katie. Other moms admired her ensemble, wishing they knew someone with that sort of talent.

She was reverent and well-behaved, and hardly twisted her face after taking the wine. One of the boys dramatically shook his head due to the distaste. We parents had a good chuckle at that.

(at the altar during Eucharistic prayer)

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(Our little family)

(with her Godparents, Aunt Jeanine and Kristine)

After Mass, we hosted a reception at my parents' home and celebrated with mimosas, fruit, muffins, sweet breads, scones and parfaits. Young and old enjoyed themselves.

(Cate with her grandparents at my parents' home)

At gift opening time, Cate read all of her cards aloud, which delighted Grandma Katie and enjoyed all the gifts she received. Kyle and I followed the tradition started by my parents and gave Cate a children's bible. My parents gave her a rosary, which they plan to give all of their grandchildren on the occasion of their First Communions. She also received a Holy Spirit medal from her godmother Aunt Jeanine who purchased it in Rome back in 2004 when she was living in Europe. In addition to other wonderful gifts, she was excited for the cash and Target gift cards and was very eager to spend her money as soon as today. Fortunately, Kyle intervened and when she didn't find exactly what she wanted, he was able to convince her to not purchase anything "just because."

And because Cate's First Communion landed on Mother's Day (the third event to fulfill the trifecta), I made several floral arrangements for table centerpieces and gave them away as token gifts for all the ladies' homes. I recycled old International Foods Instant flavored coffee tins, wrapping them in scrapbook paper, trimming them with ribbon and filling them with tulips and roses. I was quite pleased with how well they came together.

Once we cleaned up after the party, delivered our Mother's Day cards, Kyle and I took a nap as the kids watched a movie. It ended up being a very full day, but a very fulfilling day as well.

Mass in the Park and All Parish Picnic

I recently became a Ministry Leader for Parish Life at The Church of the Visitation in Minneapolis. My first big gig was to chair the planning committee for the Mass in the Park and All Parish picnic, a parish gathering we hope will become an annual event. Because we are in the Midwest, the weather can get questionable in September (the avg high is in the mid-60s), but we chose this particular weekend because our parish played host to two delegates from the Kitui Diocese in Kenya. We felt what better way to introduce our new friends to summer life in America than to enjoy a good old-fashioned picnic.

Fortunately, God blessed us with the perfect day. It was mostly sunny with a slight breeze and the bugs weren't too bad. About 75 people attended the outdoor Mass and another 20 parishioners showed up for the picnic after Mass.

Father O'Brien (r) presenting Father Mitui (l) the stole hand-painted with Visitation Icons, the State bird and State flower

Jolene presenting the Readings

The congregation

Kenyan friends singing "We Come to the Table" in Kiswahili

The picnic dinner was catered in by Picnics Plus and there was an abundance of delicious food--hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, baked beans, potato salad, watermelon, three varieties of cookies and fudge brownies; coffee, lemonade and water.

The abundant food

Four out of five in this photo are enjoying the picnic

We decorated the pavilion with strings of lights, raised halogen lights up in the middle pillar and set the picnic tables with candles and provided mini flashlights to use as needed after the sun set. We also lit the way back up the hill to the vehicles with solar lights and more candles. It was a beautiful sight that I couldn't capture in pictures.For entertainment, there was face painting, temporary tattoos and glow sticks for the kids (and adults alike!) and a sing-along after dinner led by our choir director.
There were so many positive remarks, I am confident the event was a success and that people will be looking forward to next year's event. It should be another good time...

The Season Opener and Perspective

I missed the season opener for the Vikings against their biggest rival, the Packers. It sounds like it would've been an interesting game to watch, especially during the final two minutes, as is the norm between these two teams. I got updates by someone via Facebook (you know who you are...thanks!) and enjoyed reading them as I started my way to the car after attending an Extraordinary Minister workshop at church.

Generally, I'm not an "evangelizer" of my faith. It's something I just am not comfortable articulating. But I will share this: As the time went by during the workshop, I concerned myself less and less with the game and found myself focusing more and more into the "teaching" Mass. It was as if God's grace showered me and stilled my thoughts for a while. Nothing else mattered for that period of time. Not my sore back, the uncertain condition of my aunt, the thought of going home to over-tired kids, the pressures of the new position at work, the score of a football game. I will remember that feeling of Peace for quite some time and I hope to reflect on it every time I am on the Altar to prepare to distribute the Eucharist at Mass.

It was truly an honor to participate in such a lesson. And I may just be willing to forego watching another sporting event someday to let God grace me again in the way He did this evening.

Other things from this past week

It's been a while between posts and things have been pretty busy around here.

Monday was our niece Thora Beth Jensen's first birthday party. It was celebrated during a waffle breakfast. She wouldn't even touch the whipped cream on the waffle because she doesn't like to get dirty. I foresee an easy potty-training phase for Kurt and Amy.

Last Tuesday, I attended my first Parish Pastoral Council meeting. I have signed up for a three-year term. Kyle is opting to refer to me as Madam Councilwoman instead of Madam Secretary. Ha!

Wednesday night, Cate enjoyed celebrated her cousin Matthew's 5th birthday by going to the Park at MOA with him. He didn't want to go on any of the rides, so she went on them without him. Afterwards, Matthew's mom hosted a party for him at McDonald's.

Thursday marked Cate's first day of school which was incredibly successful.

Also on Thursday, an announcement was made at work regarding yet another position change for me. I am swapping positions with a counterpart who will take over Email Marketing. Effective immediately, I am now the Manager for Online Programming which oversees the promotional presence and on-site search optimization for our website. I have a team of three which will soon increase to four. I am reporting to a guy I have worked for in a previous position, so I know exactly what to expect in that regard.

Friday night, my back went out while I was hoisting Max into bed by his diaper butt. Fortunately, Kyle hadn't left the house yet, so he helped me out and got the kids to bed.

Saturday, we entertained Kyle's parents and aunt for dinner. It wasn't the most flawless evening in the world. We barely got the house "fake-cleaned"; we hadn't started our food until they arrived; Jane couldn't eat 2/3 of what we prepared; Max played his usual antics of not cooperating at bedtime. After our guests left, I started having back spasms that I was more than willing to exchange for labor pains.

Today we stayed home and watched a lot of NFL at home while eating heartily. I promise to start counting my points again tomorrow.

And here we are, closing out one week and looking forward to another. Hopefully it will slow down soon. But somehow, I doubt it.

Clearly not a sports fan

Who, in their right mind, schedules a training on Monday, September 8th at the same time the Minnesota Vikings open their regular season against Green Bay at Packer Stadium? Apparently our pastor does. He's not from around these parts (he's formerly from the Diocese of Arlington), so he just doesn't understand.

Ugh.

Madam Secretary

Well, I am slo-o-wly starting to follow in my Mom's footsteps at church. While I will never be able to give of my time and talent to the extent that she has over the many years, I am answering the call to do what I can.

Last year, I decided to attend the Visitation Council of Catholic Women (VCCW) monthly meetings as they finally moved from a weekday to a weeknight with the hopes that younger women of the parish might get more involved in their activities. The VCCW is the mover and shaker of most of the social and fund-raising initiatives within the parish (think guilds/circles, rummage sale, Christmas Bazaar, pie sales) and financially support mostly aesthetic / ambiance maintenance needs (think carpeting, new A/C, etc). My initial reason for attending the meetings was to become more aware of all the things these good ladies do for our parish.

Last year, the board lacked a President and Vice President so my mom presided over the meetings and everything was decided on by committee. The acting secretary was the last standing president and some monthly meetings were extended due to the need to repeat what was previously stated so all could hear and the details were properly noted. Let me tell you I was, and still am, by far, BY FAR the youngest meeting goer.

This year is the same set-up with one exception.

After attending and observing a few meetings, it occurred to me that I should be more than just an attendee. So at some point last year I told my mom if no one objected, I would be happy to take on the duties of secretary. She was so pleased and the acting secretary was more so. I think my attendance was pretty good with missing only one meeting, so I think I can continue on with such a responsibility.

This evening was the first meeting of the new fiscal year. I arrived ten minutes early and pulled out my laptop. All the ladies ooh'd. It was cute. But with my recording of the meeting, we cut our meeting time by, I kid you not, thirty minutes. I only had to stop once and ask a lady to repeat what she said. Additionally, the minutes are pretty much wrapped up and ready to print and deliver over to Mom's house on Thursday. What fun!

I told Kyle he now has to address me as Madam Secretary. He laughed...rather robustly at that statement. Not sure what that was all about...

Church, Stories, Rides, Games, Dinner

One Sunday each summer, our church participates in the local ecumenical church service schedule at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. This year, our church partnered with Christ the King, a neighboring parish. Participation in the service is a family affair: my dad, Jolene, Jeanine, and Jeanine's son, Jack all sang in the choir; Mom coordinated a variety of volunteers; we stayed to pour lemonade. Cate thought "outside church" was interesting. My nephew Charlie accompanied Max and Cate up for Children's Time, a moment after the homily that I have yet to see a Catholic community do successfully. Yet another, all too long presentation by a lay person who expects little ones to have more than five minute attention spans. Cate was out of there in less than two minutes. Oh well. The freedom of an open worship space, I guess.

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After the service, it was "Jack time." For Jack's birthday last August, our gift to him was the gift of time. We finally made good on the gift. We enjoyed lunch at D'Amico & Sons. On the way back to our house, Cate convinced Jack to tell her a story. For a guy who said he didn't tell very good stories, he sure had the car laughing non-stop.

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After dropping Kyle and the kids home, Jack and I headed off to the Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America for some indoor amusement fun. It's been a long time since I've been to an amusement park and I really had a great time. As an adult, it's important to just get into the mood and channel your inner kid. It rocked!

We hit all the 6 point rides (the highest thrill rides vs 0 point rides for families or little tots). Our mutual favorite ride was the "Avatar Bender." I think I left my stomach on that ride. Jack had the shakes afterwards. On our last ride, we rode with another very charismatic young teen who said his parents didn't like riding these sort of rides. So as we sat in our car waiting for the ride to begin, I said I hoped I didn't embarrass him with all of my screaming. His reply: "My parents are WAY more embarrassing!" Hmm, so I'm only slightly embarrassing...I'll take it! When I brought Jack back to his house, he so graciously thanked me for such an awesome time and gave me a huge hug. It was an impressive act of appreciation for an almost fourteen-year-old, I'd say.

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We had yet another fabulous dinner menu planned, so we wanted to share our experience. My mom was away quilting, so we invited my dad over. It was a last minute call, so I was very pleased when he agreed to come over. Our timing was off, but he was more than happy to play with the kids while we pulled everything together. He was an incredibly good sport and played "Candyland" with the kids--Max's first time. I don't know who won, but there was peace and harmony flowing from the living room, so who really cares!
Our dinner was fantastic--marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes (Coleman's: we're addicted!), green beans, baguettes. The only thing not-so-great was dessert: a banana / chocolate chip cake I made from an "Amish Friendship Bread" batter. It had good flavor, but it was too moist in texture.

Papa left after dinner and we got the kids ready for bed. Max is short on summer pj's, so I'm still squishing him into onesies. Poor guy, it's as if I'm secretly trying to shorten his torso and re-distribute his body proportions!
Cate played with her "friends" in the top bunk until Max was ready to go to bed as well.
After many "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" hollers from behind the closed door, it seems they have finally settled in for the evening. I think they were just like us--they didn't want the great weekend to end.